The trade that would have landed Chris Paul with the Los Angeles Lakers back in 2011 is one of the biggest sore spots for fans of the franchise. The deal was famously vetoed by the NBA as the league owned the New Orleans Hornets at the time and thus had the power to do so, robbing fans of a legendary Chris Paul-Kobe Bryant backcourt.
Famously, NBA commissioner David Stearn termed ‘basketball reasons’ as why they chose to veto the deal, saying that the Hornets would be better keeping Paul and if there was a deal, it should be centered around younger players as opposed to the veterans the Lakers were sending over.